A Child’s Memory of Pearl Harbor
I was very small
the day they bombed Pearl Harbor
but I remember my mother
dashing around the kitchen
saying nothing to me
or my little sister
but kids know when
something’s wrong
especially when their mother
dials the rotary phone
over and over
trying to reach their father
working in some alley
climbing a light pole
to fix electricity.
On the anniversary
of Pearl Harbor I think of
the few veterans alive
flying to the scene
to be honored
and for some reason
I think of two other men
Tebow and Kaepernick,
different as men can be,
who for causes as different
as they are, are
mocked in public for
enjoying the freedom
America stands for when
they silently take a knee.
Donal Mahoney
